Some 87% of US firms say that they have either maintained or increased their investment in sustainability this year, despite regulatory challenges and government pushback, a new study by EcoVadis has found.
EcoVadis‘ study, 2025 U.S. Business Sustainability Landscape Outlook: Executive Perspectives on Supply Chain Disruption, Resilience and Competitiveness, found that the majority of firms are still prioritising sustainability, albeit ‘behind the scenes’, with fewer are promoting it publicly.
“Even as the debate over business sustainability heats up, executives are focused on the reality – sustainability is what keeps supply chains running and customers on board,” commented Pierre-François Thaler, co-founder and co-CEO of EcoVadis.
‘Greenhushing’ on the increase
Overall, sustainability investments are continuing to rise despite an increase in ‘greenhushing’, with close to a third (31%) of US executives saying that they are increasing business sustainability investments but reducing public communications.
Some 8% have stopped talking about their sustainability efforts altogether, while remaining ‘on track’ internally, while 7% have scaled back their sustainability work, and just 6% admit to doing the minimum to comply.
Elsewhere, around two thirds (65%) of executives see supply chain sustainability as a competitive advantage within their firms; while 47% of C-suite executives believe that eliminating ESG regulations would increase disruption along their supply chain.
Compliance matters
The study also found, however, that companies are struggling to keep pace with ESG compliance, with just 13% reporting being on track with measures such as the EU’s CSRD and CBAM, California’s SB-253, and Canada’s Modern Slavery Act.
For each regulation, up to around a fifth (19%) of companies haven’t begun collecting supply chain ESG data, while up to 15% say that they are in ‘wait and see’ mode, hoping regulatory timelines shift.
“To stay ahead of risks and disruption, leading companies are prioritising transparency and accountability by investing in tools that help them assess supplier performance, manage risk more proactively, and navigate evolving compliance demands,” Thaler added. Read more here.
